Various systems have been devised for illustrating fluid flow along different paths of travel and many of these systems take the form of illuminated displays. For instance, U.S. Pat. No. 4,667,427 to T. S. Been discloses a display panel having light-transmitting holes to represent one or more fluid flow paths and wherein the light elements may be of different colors to represent the different fluids or flow characteristics of the fluids.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,439,818 to J. J. Scheib there is disclosed the use of LED lighting strips in which the LEDs are connected in parallel with one another in series with a resistor mounted on each segment of a strip. U.S. Pat. No. 3,715,822 to L. B. Hansen, Jr. et al is directed more to a display utilizing a series of lights to simulate a particular pattern of movement, such as, fluid flow in which the lights are sequentially activated or flashed along a particular path.
In U.S. Pat. No. 3,839,804 to J. R. Amend et al, a display panel is provided for simulating the consumption of energy. U.S. Pat. No. 3,359,652 to Prosser et al is directed more to a display module for a pipeline network and utilizing independent pockets in a framework to provide valve openings and particular fluid flow restrictions to simulate demand characteristics. Another U.S. Pat. No. 3,054,204 to D. N. Yates discloses a polarized transparency for simulating the flow of fluids, the transparency being employed in combination with a linear polarizer to create the effect of continuous motion along different lines of a viewing screen. Other representative patents are U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,888,706 to W. F. Rush et al and 3,379,864 to P. N. Petersen.
To our knowledge, no has successfully devised a complete natural gas display system to simulate the generation and transmission of natural gas at different rates of flow to different natural gas facilities or users, such as, industrial, commercial and residential users as well as to represent the energy source and flow patterns through individual gas appliances in a home and having the ability to independently activate and control the lighting to each section to be displayed. A display system of this type can serve as a valuable aid in educating the public on the nature and characteristics of natural gas as well as conservation and safety measures to be employed in the use of natural gas.